L-285D ORION AP-3C

Flown
from Lockheed, Burbank to Moffett Field for crew training.
(Source:
1)

26MAY78

Arrived
at RAAF Edinburgh. The first P-3C to be delivered to the RAAF.
(Source: 1)

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

16JUN14

Returned
to Edinburgh after repainting by Air New Zealand in Christchurch,
NZ. A9-751 was the last of 13 RAAF Orions to be repainted
under a contract which began on 17MAY12. (Source: 3)

04OCT14

Flew
in a four aircraft formation to commemorate the 75th anniversary
of No 10 Sqn and No 11 Sqn.

16NOV17

Flown
from Edinburgh to Point Cook on delivery to the RAAF Museum.

A9-752

5658

160752

28MAR78

AP-3C-180-LO

-

29JUN78

Arrived
Edinburgh

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

A9-753

5660

160753

22MAY78

AP-3C-180-LO

-

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

04OCT14

Flew
in a four aircraft formation to commemorate the 75th anniversary
of No 10 Sqn and No 11 Sqn.

23NOV16

Withdrawn
from service at Edinburgh.

12DEC16

Arrived
at Albion Park, NSW for storage pending disposal.

03NOV17

A9-753 was officially handed over to HARS by the Chief of
Air Force in a ceremony at Albion Park.

25JAN18

Registered
VH-ORI to HARS.

A9-754

5662

160754

27MAY78

P-3C-180-LO

-

26APR91

Ditched
off Cocos Islands.

Although
some components were salvaged, most of the aircraft was dumped
at sea.
The nose section was still present at Cocos in 1992 (see
Photo #4) and it is reported that one of the propellors
is displayed in a Cocos Islands museum. Refer Report
from Cocos. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Historical Society
have erected a memorial
to Flying Officer Thomas Henniker, the crew member who died
in the crash of A9-754
An Orion fin/rudder is displayed
outside the 92 Wing HQ at RAAF Edinburgh. Despite earlier
speculation that it had come from the parted-out P-3B 152760,
it has now been established that it came from P-3C A9-754.

A9-755

5664

160755

07AUG78

AP-3C-180-LO

-

18AUG78

Arrived
Edinburgh

04OCT14

Noted
at Edinburgh being prepared for scrapping.

A9-756

5666

160756

01SEP78

AP-3C-180-LO

-

04OCT14

Noted
at Edinburgh.

OCT15

Withdrawn
from service at Edinburgh.

10DEC17

The
fuselage and the left wing were delivered by road to the South
Australian Aviation Museum on this date. Other components
were delivered earlier on 23NOV17. The aircraft will be displayed
with only the left wing fitted. The right wing was not received
by SAAM at their request.

A9-757

5668

160757

03OCT78

AP-3C-180-LO

-

07NOV78

Arrived
Edinburgh

04OCT14

Noted
at Edinburgh.

A9-758

5672

160758

27NOV78

AP-3C-185-LO

-

04OCT14

Noted
at Edinburgh being prepared for scrapping.

27OCT14

Remains
transported to a local scrapyard.

A9-759

5674

160759

21DEC78

AP-3C-185-LO

-

First
production AP-3C converted by Boeing at Avalon, VIC.

04OCT14

Noted
at Edinburgh.

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

15FEB18

Delivered
to HARS at Parkes.

A9-760

5676

160760

16JAN79

AP-3C-185-LO

-

16JAN79

Arrived
Edinburgh

OCT97

Handed
over to Raytheon E-Systems, Greenville, Texas for modification
to the prototype AP-3C under Project Air 5276.

JUL02

The
first AP-3C to enter RAAF service.

A9-656

5778

162656

09OCT84

AP-3C-220-LO

N64854

07DEC84

Arrived
Edinburgh

A9-657

5780

162657

27FEB85

AP-3C-220-LO

N64911

Believed
to be a dedicated ELINT aircraft. (Source: 4)

A9-658

5782

162658

12JUL85

AP-3C-220-LO

N4009K

AUG85

Arrived
Edinburgh

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

AUG16

Allocated
to South Australian Aviation Museum for delivery DEC18. Subsequently
the allocation was amended to A9-756. It is reported that
A9-658 may become a gate guard at RAAF Edinburgh.

21OCT16

Flown
for the last time and withdrawn from service. Used as a non-flying
but taxyable ground trainer.

A9-659

5784

162659

24JUL85

AP-3C-220-LO

N64996

AUG85

Arrived
Edinburgh

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

It
is reported that the aircraft may be allocated to the Australian
War Memorial.

A9-660

5785

162660

07SEP85

AP-3C-225-LO

N64854

SEP85

Arrived
Edinburgh

-

Believed
to be a dedicated ELINT aircraft. (Source: 4)

A9-661

5787

162661

17OCT85

AP-3C-225-LO

N64911

OCT85

Arrived
Edinburgh

04OCT14

Flew
in a four aircraft formation to commemorate the 75th anniversary
of No 10 Sqn and No 11 Sqn.

A9-662

5789

162662

20NOV85

AP-3C-225-LO

N64996

NOV85

Arrived
Edinburgh

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

A9-663

5791

162663

20DEC85

P-3C-225-LO

N4009K

FEB86

Arrived
Edinburgh

A9-663
was the only P-3C (apart from the written-off A9-754) that
was not converted to AP-3C standard. The
aircraft was retained for trials purposes and was not subject
to normal tasking.

04OCT14

Noted
at Edinburgh being prepared for scrapping.

17OCT14

Remains
transported to a local scrap yard.

A9-664

5793

162664

30APR86

AP-3C-225-LO

N64854

MAR14

Participated
in the aerial search for MH370 which concluded on 28APR14.
(Source: 2)

04OCT14

Flew
in a four aircraft formation to commemorate the 75th anniversary
of No 10 Sqn and No 11 Sqn.

16

Carries
11 SQN Black Cats tail art 1968-2016.

A9-665

5795

162665

28MAY86

AP-3C-225-LO

N4009H

15NOV86

Commissioned
at Edinburgh

21NOV12

After
almost ten years, 2,410 missions and 22,535 flying hours,
A9-665 flew the final sortie in the MEAO. On 25NOV12 Task
Unit 633.2.4 was disbanded at the Al Minhad Airbase, United
Arab Emirates. (Source: 4)

29NOV12

A9-665
arrived back at Edinburgh. (Source: 4)

AP-3C
ORION STATUS

SERIAL

IN
SVC

WFS

AVAILABLE
TO AHOs

REMARKS

A9-751

Delivered
to the RAAF Museum 16NOV17.

A9-752

DEC18

A9-753

DEC16

Handed
over to HARS on 03NOV17. To VH-ORI.

A9-754

Crashed
26APR91.

A9-755

Scrapped
OCT14.

A9-756

Delivered
to SAAM on 10DEC17.

A9-757

MAY17

Noted
parked in Darwin on 20FEB18.

A9-758

Scrapped
OCT14.

A9-759

JUN18

Delivered
to HARS at Parkes on 15FEB18.

A9-760

JUN18

A9-656

JUL19

A9-657

A9-658

DEC16

Reported
to be future gate guard at Edinburgh.

A9-659

Confirmed
in service 17JAN17. Reported to be for AWM.

A9-660

Confirmed
in service 11AUG17.

A9-661

JUL19

A9-662

JUL19

A9-663

Scrapped
OCT14. (Only aircraft not converted to AP-3C)

A9-664

JUL19

Confirmed
in service 22OCT17.

A9-665

JUL19

NOTES
ON ORION STATUS

AVAILABLE
TO AHOs

The
Australian Government announced on 11 March 2016 that up to
eleven AP-3C Orions would be made available to Australian Heritage
Organisations (AHO) with a projected delivery timeframe of September
2016 to July 2019. Subsequently, an additional aircraft, A9-756,
was allocated to SAAM in lieu of the previously allocated A9-658.

Aircraft are presumed to be still in service until confirmed
as having been withdrawn from service.

NOTES
P-3C

1

The
P-3C MSNs have been confirmed by RAAF sources.
RAAF document AAP 7215.001-2-1 dated 1983 confirms the MSN,
BU NO and Block Numbers assigned to A9-751 to A9-760 (incl)
in the above table.

2

All
surviving P-3C are currently assigned to 92 Wing, RAAF Edinburgh,
SA.

3

A9-656
to A9-665 were also known in RAAF service as the P-3W to differentitate
between aircraft built in 1978/9 (A9-751 to A9-760) and those
built in 1984/5 (A9-656 to A9-665).
Lockheed referred to these aircraft as "original delivery"
and "follow-on" respectively.

4

All
surviving P-3C, with the exception of A9-663, underwent a modernisation
programme after which they were redesignated as AP-3C [A=Australia].
The first AP-3C entered service in July 2002 and the final conversion
was completed in December 2004. A9-754 had crashed in 1991 and
A9-663 was used as a trials aircraft so only 18 aircraft were
converted to AP-3C.

5

It
was announced on 15MAR05 (ADF Press Release 043/2005) that "The
full fleet of 18 upgraded AP-3C Orions have been successfully
delivered." Australian National Audit Office Report No.
10 (2005-2006) states that "One of the 19 aircraft is used
for development purposes and was not included in the Upgrade
Project." This same report also states that the first AP-3C
was accepted into service in July 2002 and the final (18th)
aircraft was accepted in December 2004. It subsequently emerged
that the unconverted development aircraft is A9-663.

6

There
have been reports that one or two AP-3Cs have an ELINT capability.
A report in Flight International of 04OCT05 refers to
"18 maritime surveillance and one electronic intelligence-gathering
aircraft".
It is now believed that two aircraft were converted and that
these are A9-657 and A9-660.
It is probably no coincidence that all of the Orions now carry
miniscule serial numbers adjacent to the rear crew door.

7

A
U.S. Navy structural repair manual dated 29 August 1977 states
that the first 10 P-3C for the RAAF were to have been given
the serials A9-001 to A9-010. This numbering system was evidently
abandoned as the aircraft were delivered bearing serials derived
from the last three digits of the Bu No. MSNs and Bu Nos listed
in this manual correspond with the above table in respect of
the first seven aircraft A9-751 to A9-757 but the subsequent
three aircraft, A9-758 to A9-760, differ. Given that these three
aircraft were delivered more than one year after the publication
of the manual, there had evidently been changes on the production
line.

8

Air
Force News of 31JUL14 reported that A9-751 returned to Australia
on 16JUN14 after being repainted by Air New Zealand in Christchurch
under a contract let to Boeing Defence Australia on 17MAY12.
All 13 Orions were repainted with A9-751 being the last. (From
this it can be inferred that 6 Orions had been withdrawn from
service prior to the repaint). It was reported that the Orions
would not need to be painted again before their replacement
by the Boeing P-8 Poseidon.

9

The
Australian Government announced on 11 March 2016 that up to
eleven AP-3C Orions would be made available to Australian Heritage
Organisations with a projected delivery timeframe of September
2016 to July 2019.

*
A Note on P-3C Block Numbers

Block
Numbers were generally issued only to aircraft built specifically
for the United States Navy. However, it is common for aircraft
of foreign customers to assume the Block Number of USN aircraft
which were on the assembly line at the same time. Lockheed and
the USN discontinued the use of Block Numbers after 200 because
they were not sufficiently specific to represent configuration
accurately enough for maintenance, so the USN went to more precise
configuration listings of specific aircraft and mods. Nevertheless,
Block Numbers higher than 200 were used by several customers,
including the RAAF, and indeed there is photographic proof of
their use on USN aircraft. It is believed that these Block Numbers
were contrived locally for continuity purposes.

A9-756
has been allocated to SAAM in lieu of A9-658 for delivery
in AUG17.
A9-753 has been stored at Albion Park pending disposal.

16

24AUG16

A9-658
has been allocated to SAAM for delivery DEC18.

15

17MAR16

Updated
Status Table with news that 11 aircraft are to be made available
to AHOs.

14

31OCT15

A9-756
is reported as having been withdrawn from service.

13

10SEP15

Added
a series of images of A9-754 being salvaged at Cocos Islands.
Thanks to Leigh Byrnes.
Added an image of A9-759.

12

09SEP15

Added
an image of A9-754 thanks to Richard
Vandervord.
Added an image of A9-664 thanks
to Phil Vabre.
Added an image of A9-753 thanks
to Phil Vabre.

11

07SEP15

Completely
reformatted table. Nil change to data.

10

08DEC14

Updated
details of scrapping of A9-663 and A9-758 thanks to ADF
Serials.

9

08NOV14

A9-663
was broken up at Edinburgh on 20OCT14.

8

04OCT14

Added
an update on AP-3C status at Edinburgh on this date. Thanks
to Nigel Daw of WBAG. Also added a table showing Orion service
status.

7

30AUG13

The
previous update stating that A9-755 was withdrawn from service
in AUG12 is obviously incorrect as this aircraft appeared
at the Avalon Air Show in FEB13.

6

16AUG12

It
is reported that A9-755 has been withdrawn from service,
the first AP-3C to be retired. See Update 7.

5

18JUN08

Added
a link to a website describing the memorial to Flying Officer
Thomas Henniker who died in the crash of A9-754.

4

06JUN08

It
is understood that the unconverted development aircraft
is A9-661. The matter of ELINT capabilities has been further
clarified.

3

07JAN06

Attempted
to further clarify the complicated matter of Block Numbers.

2

10NOV05

Refer
to Note 7 above. The document referred to was supplied by
Marco Borst of the Orion Research Group. Thanks Marco.

1

11OCT05

Previously,
all Orions were presented on the one page. Effective from
this date, there are separate pages for each type, P-3B,
TAP-3B and P-3C. If required, the previous summary of updates
can be viewed here.